Tom Hanks up against new symbols in Inferno

Dan Brown's 'Inferno'. Photo: AFP

Sony Pictures has announced that the actor will take on the role of Robert Langdon for the third film inspired by the bestselling Dan Brown novels.

Filmmaker Ron Howard will also return to direct the adventures of the renowned "symbologist" in the new film, which follows The Da Vinci Code (2006) and Angels and Demons (2009). The Inferno release date in the US and Canada has already been set for December 18, 2015.

Inferno will be based on Brown's latest novel, published this spring. The professor played by Tom Hanks will travel to Florence, where he will decipher Dante's poem Inferno to overturn the devious plans of a secret organization.

The announcement of the new film puts a hold on the adaptation of The Lost Symbol, a project explored by Sony Pictures up until now. Published in 2009, the novel describes Robert Langdon's confrontation with Freemasonry in Washington.